Special blog

Cycle the Rockies: A Tour of Energy in Montana

By Contributing Writers, 6-02-10

Note: Ten days ago eight students and their instructors pedaled away from Billings, Montana to begin a four-week, 700-mile cycling expedition to explore the state, its opportunities for producing clean energy, and the impacts of climate change.

Every ten days New West will be publishing the students’ writings and photographs from the road. Here in this first installment you’ll find the raw contemplations and curiosities of the intrepid cyclists as they begin their trek.  It’s a technical and social lesson on Montana’s energy picture, too.  Enjoy, and check back often for updates.

Day One: May 20, 2010

The Next Revolutions

By Adam Mauro, Montana State University

Sam and I made it to downtown Missoula by 9:45 AM. OK maybe closer to 10:00, an hour late for the start of a big adventure.  I signed up for the Wild Rockies Field Institute’s Cycle The Rockies course to get a thorough education on sustainable energy systems and climate change. That’s my motivation, but I was so tired that morning - I’d been up all night getting my things in order. Not only packing for the trip, but my business, “College Hunks Blowin’ Chunks Lawn Care,” has been slammed with the new spring growth. 

While I’m busy in daily life, I feel that my responsibilities extend beyond myself and into my community. I’m studying Sustainable Food and Bio-energy Systems at Montana State University, and besides CHBC Lawn Care I’m interning at the University’s organic vegetable farm. I’m very concerned about the crisis we’re experiencing in regard to climate and energy issues. Without prompt change to the way I, you, and we react with our environments, the long term damage may will be irreversible. I’m worried about the future of our society and I want to help us all make the shift to a sustainable existence.

That’s why over the next three weeks, I’ll pedal across Montana investigating energy production and climate change here in The Last Best Place: Montana, USA.

The whole way from Bozeman to Missoula it was sleeting heavily with standing water on the interstate. Weather like that doesn’t get your hopes up when you’re about to set off on a seven hundred mile journey on a bicycle. AND the truck was sputtering the whole way, the fuel filter needed some care. By the time we made it, everyone else was already at Adventure Cycling with a mix of bike trailers and panniers spread across the lawn. There were introductions to each other, followed by a presentation introducing us to the course. All in all, it seemed like a standard course summary, but something was different. Maybe the difference was we were about to trek across the state come hell or high water. It felt like the magnitude of what I was about to attempt was punching me in the gut. Or maybe that nauseous feeling was the half dozen cups of coffee or so that I had drank.

Everyone was really nice; besides Sam Hitchcock, also from Montana State, there was Aleta Jokisch, Allison Wren and Morgan Hartford from the University of Montana. Matt Dawkings and Andrew Scott were from the University of Kansas. Logan Petemyer had cruised in all the way from the University of Vermont, making his journey the farthest. I was feeling apprehensive about the mission when we did a gear check, especially when I realized I had to do some last minute shopping. I couldn’t believe it, I left my shoes at home! How lame is that?

After I found some shoes, I joined the group and we loaded up and headed out. What happened for the next five or six hours, I couldn’t tell you. I passed out as soon as I sat down. I’ve been in Montana long enough to have the excitement of driving on I-90 subside. But later than sooner I woke up to us pulling into the KOA in Billings. We set up our tents and ate some pasta salad that Noah Pollock, one of the instructors, had packed along. We all got a chuckle at the people “camping” when a pizza delivery drove by; who ever ordered that meal definitely wasn‘t roughing it. When I think of the great camping and awesome experiences I’m gonna do and have over this trip, I get stoked. I’m about to have a blast, and maybe learn enough to make a difference to the world around me.

Day Two: May 21, 2010

The Sweet and the Sour: Oil and Gas Production in Montana and Beyond

Morgen Hartford, University of Montana

Cradled in a bed of soft, green grass, beneath a stand of cottonwood trees, and within earshot of the Yellowstone River, I closed my eyes and went to sleep. These were prime conditions for a restful slumber, yet I woke up this morning stiff and aching. What could have gone wrong? I just finished a semester where the final weeks were spent daydreaming about a quiet outdoor overnight just like this.  It’s strange how the scenarios for which we have hopeful anticipation often yield unexpected disappointments. Such is the case with energy production from fossil fuels.

In the last 150 years, oil and gas made possible a level of progress unlike any in human history. But the emerging effects of global climate and the negative impacts to ecosystems warrants a reassessment of this “progress”. Each gallon of oil released into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP bungle is another reason why our country (and world) must strongly reconsider its primary sources of energy production. Surprisingly enough, two of the most influential employees at the Billings Exxon oil refinery would agree - sort of. 

We spent the day touring the refinery with Mark Holm, a company economist, and Steve Marx, who oversees Exxon’s environmental compliance, both of whom very knowledgeable and considerate. The two were quick to state that they thought climate change was real and that it was a problem. However, they also noted that Exxon was in the business of providing oil and gas to those who demand it in the most profitable and safe way possible. This was not just talk; we saw great examples of how the Billings Exxon refinery is working hard to comply with Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) standards, reducing their sulfur-dioxide emissions by 70% in the last five years.

Access to this energy source is possible without the need for armed conflict; no U.S. lives are lost to acquire this oil. And it comes to Montana where 250 Billings residents are employed by Exxon to operate the refinery. The employees bicycle from site to site around the facility and there is a 100-acre wildlife preserve set-up behind the refinery. They support United Way and the food bank donation bin in the reception area is a demonstration that they have some connection to the local community.

As much as Billings Exxon is concerned about that connection, they are in the business of production. The refinery processes up to 58,000 barrels of oil per day, comprised a variety of grades piped in from various locations. Each grade has its own industry pet name, largely based on sulfur levels present: light sweet crude, West Texas Intermediate (W.T.I.), and sour crude. The heavy crude is shipped straight from Alberta, Canada, which recently became the world’s second largest producer of oil. The oil is low grade, but low cost as well (heavy crude sells for $10 less/barrel than W.T.I.). This is of great benefit to the company, but the heavy crude filling the Exxon/Conoco Phillips Yellowstone Pipeline (of which they share ownership) is one of the most contentious sources of crude currently in production.

The carbon-rich tar sands are extracted from the old-growth boreal forests of Alberta’s Athabasca Valley. The highly energy intensive process is steam-driven, requiring large amounts of natural gas to heat over 200,000 tons of water. I was alarmed that the Alberta oil that supports the Billings community is the same oil that threatens to destroy my community in Lolo.

Exxon/Mobil and its Canadian company, Imperial Oil are currently fighting for the right to transport two hundred 100-ton loads of the tar sands mining equipment through highway 12.  To do so would mean, among other things, the need for massive highway construction above Lolo Creek and just outside my front door.  My favorite place to fish for big brown trout, Lolo Creek is considered an impaired body of water by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, in large part due to highway construction. The creek of my youth used to flow high through late summer with rolling trout flashing their bellies in deep holes. These days the creek runs low or even dry in August and the trout face warm, silt-laden waters. Lolo Creek can’t take more abuse. Exxon’s continued production of tar sands may be good for those in Billings, but it’s not good for me, my community, or my watershed.

What I learned today made me realize how complicated the transition from oil may be, affecting the jobs, economy, and individuals in towns like Billings; towns that were built around and depend on industry. I also see that business as usual means that companies like Exxon will make enormous profits (Exxon reported 45.2 billion dollar net profit in 2008, according to that year’s Corporate Citizen Report) while the people and environments in fragile places will pay a far higher price. I’m finding that the trade-offs in energy production are much like grades of oil. Some are sweet and some are sour.

Day Three: May 22, 2010

Fixing Tires, Fixing Buildings

By Sam Hitchcock, Montana State University

Moist air filled greeted us as we awoke from our second slumber at the world’s first KOA. After downing store-brewed coffee, we geared up for a jam-packed day of green building education. Yesterday’s Exxon Mobile tour left us with the realization that corporate culture can be hard to change. “Business as usual” is obviously the path desired, and I felt a bit down about the corporate stronghold on America’s energy portfolio.  Thankfully, today, we had the opportunity to share the day with Ed Gullick, a visionary architect here in Billings, Montana, who showed us how changing the way our buildings are designed can be a valuable weapon in beating that culture.

But before our tour, we first needed to fix a flat (my tire, thanks to a few goat heads, a plant which single-handedly keeps bike shops open throughout the west). Once on our way, we met with Ed at the “Home on the Range” building he helped design for two regional non-profits; the Northern Plains Resource Council and the Western Organizations of Resource Councils.

From the native landscaping, supplemented by on-site composting, to a roof adorned with photovoltaics, the building instantly stuck out. By rebuilding an abandoned building in the south part of Billings, and recycling over 90% of building materials, the project cost less than conventional new construction, while using one-fifth of the energy!

The architectural team incorporated many innovative materials. Floors made of cement mixed with coal-waste fly ash and counter tops made of sunflower seed hulls are features both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally conscious. Exposed original roof joists give the place a historic feel. Light-shelves bring daylight throughout the building. The whole building shows how efficient strategies and a holistic planning process can make a world of difference on our end use energy consumption.

After being bombarded by Ed’s wealth of knowledge we set out once again. And once again – a flat! Another goat head! What next? Of course, it was raining. But with our new insider take on Billings and new bike skills, these problems seemed small and were easily solved. And after learning about Ed’s efforts, it seems our society’s building problems could be solved too.It was comforting and uplifting to see what we could do to reduce our use of coal through efficiency and conservation of energy. Ed showed us the social, environmental, and economic advantages of green building. By 2040, 75% of all buildings in the U.S. will be either new or remodeled. Working out the kinks with our gear – whether flat tires or our buildings - is better done now than later – it’s long road ahead, but we’ve got the tools to do it!

Day Four: May 23, 2010

Graze Like a Buffalo

By Logan Piepmeier, University of Vermont

Today we got up and got out of Dodge…err Billings. After a few minor delays (a Target run and our daily allotment of flat tires) we rolled onto the highway and out of the city. Though I initially knew nothing of Billings but an oil refinery and the KOA, spending a day cycling through the city with Ed, one of its most devoted residents, showed me a much more complete community. Still, after three nights in town I was ready to get moving. Our next destination was a cattle ranch, and I wanted to get in some miles and see this other side of Montana.  After ripping through 25 miles of prairies (seriously, we should make a pro team out of this group), we came upon three smiling faces waiting on the porch welcoming us to the ranch – Steve, Geanne, and Ressa Charter.

Minutes later, out in the pasture, we all kneeled around a metal hoop and stared at the ground. To me, the ground looked like …well not much. It looked like prairie. But Steve saw a whole story in the scattered grasses and weeds. The cows love this plant. This tuft of grass has been bitten, but that’s where it’s grown back.  This shrub keeps moisture in the ground, and that one is good for winter grazing. We recorded his observations, then trimmed and weighed the plant matter within the hoop. The Charters have begun taking samples like these to confirm what they already know about their ranching techniques: they are making the pasture—and the planet—healthier.

This is no ordinary cattle ranch. In fact, by using a system called time-controlled grazing, the Charters use their land as it would have been used before there were any ranches in the West. The grasses and other plants that make up these plains evolved alongside lots and lots of buffalo. And these buffalo herds didn’t hang out in one spot, chowing on the same plants for months as conventionally raised cattle do today. They moved in huge herds, grazing one spot hard and then moving on to greener pastures, not to return for months.

The time-controlled grazing system approximates this pre-ranching state by dividing up a ranch into many areas and allowing the cattle to graze in each one for only a few days before moving them onto the next area. This way the grasses in each area have months to regrow as they would have had hundreds of years ago. Not surprisingly, when the grass is placed under the conditions it evolved to handle, it thrives, allowing the Charters to run more cattle on their land than they could by using conventional ranching techniques.

This ecosystem-based technique has one feature that got me, a hopeless carnivore still reeling from the critical industrial agriculture documentary Food Inc. and the many news articles about the beef industry’s part in climate change, really excited: it sequesters carbon. That’s right. Forget those multi-billion-dollar coal and carbon sequestration schemes. Let’s just change the way we raise beef. It turns out that time-controlled grazing makes the grass so healthy that it actually starts growing its roots deeper—way deeper. And it builds those roots with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On the Charters’ 7000 acre ranch, just a one percent increase in organic matter in the soil has the effect of taking 230,000 cars off the road for one year. 

So as I enjoyed some Charter’s Ranch beef with dinner tonight, I could savor my meal with my eco-karma intact. These not-so-ordinary ranchers were willing to try something different, and found a technique that not only benefited them, but benefitted future generations, who now have a better chance of inheriting a better ranch and a better earth.

Day Five: May 24, 2010

Shelter from the Storm

By Matt Dawkins, University of Kansas

We awoke after a long night of raging winds and torrential downpours that nearly flattened my tent. Over breakfast, the Charter family explained why the rain was needed. Springtime moisture is vital for the growth cycle of grasses. Jeanne Charter explained that during this time of year it is important for them to be on top of managing their lands, in time-controlled grazing they move the cattle frequently to prevent them from biting the same fast growing plant twice before it can fully recover.

Due to the relentless winds and rain, we had class indoors where we reviewed and discussed some readings about fossil fuel impacts, especially coal. Like all discussions we’ve had so far, this one was so deep-hearted and riveting that time seemed to lose itself. Our classes go far beyond preconceived notions and dive deeply into politics, economics and social dynamics. This is especially so when speakers like the Charters participate and share their holistic views of it all.

Steve and Jeanne told us about their history with the land and their battles with coal mining companies. As Steve sat down on the couch he told us how his father, Boyd Charter, was not only offered large sums of money, but was also lied to about other neighbor’s decisions to sell out their land. When asked how much he wanted for his ranch he told the coal company that whatever they offered it would be “a dollar and sixty four cents short.” No amount of money could buy this beloved land. Boyd’s wife Ann extended and widened the family mission to protect ranchland as a founding member of the Northern Plains Resource Council, the same organization that contracted Ed to build the Home on the Range building. This NPRC model has also spread to seven western states, where they are doing great conservation work.

To the north the Charter family leases summer pasture land in the Bull Mountains. Up there they unfortunately don’t own the mineral rights, and this raises some concerns because the family uses this land for the cattle to grazing the summer. Although underground longwall coal mining is easier on the land than other mining methods, it still causes significant impacts. Some potential problems include subsidence of mined land, drying up natural springs and poisoning of the water with mine drainage.  All of these side effects make for a potential disaster for the environment and a family that is making a living from cattle farming.

I could see that the family was totally invested in stewarding the health of their land and advocating these practices elsewhere. Not only did the Charters seek sustainability through their farming practices but also through their own daily lives. Even their house was built into the side of a hill and was constructed with low energy use as a goal. It’s when you have a true passion for living in balance with your surroundings that you employ it into all areas of your life, and work hard to pass it on to coming generations.

Overall, we have learned how the Charter family has taken the practice of cattle ranching and have balanced it with an environmental concern that sets a model for others. Hopefully as we make our way to the coal mine tomorrow the torrential downpours will subside. There we may get another side of these stories of land and coal and be able to unravel these pressing concerns to the Charters and others. We will miss taking refuge from the storms by the Charter’s hearth. Aside from their hospitality we would like to thank them for their commitment to making a positive difference in this world in so many ways.

Day Six: May 26, 2010

Transition Towns

By Alison Wren, University of Montana

Before today I would have been content to just pass by the town of Roundup, Montana, dismissing it as just another dying community from the heyday of small-town coal mining. But after spending a day here, I really got to know the town and the story of its people, who, disillusioned by the coal industry, are beginning to look beyond fossil fuels to a more sustainable future.

Residing in the poorest non-reservation county in Montana, Roundup was built to burn coal. In the 1950s a coal mine served as a key component for the local economy. Many residents worked in the mine and identified with the resource provided by the land. Unfortunately the mine didn’t make it. It closed its doors leaving the Roundup community high and dry. Or rather, empty and poor.

Locals waited over 50 years, for a mine to return and revive the community. The coal left in the ground provided the opportunity for the most productive mine in the world, if operated correctly. Signal Peak Energy Co. recognized the potential lying beneath the land and recently opened a state of the art mine in the Bull Mountains. We had the opportunity to tour the mine and talk with Bud Viren, the mine manager, who told us that the mine provides over 220 quality jobs for locals. “This is a great place to work, it really is,” he assured us. He also explained that because the company operates using longwall mining, there is little to no impact on the surface land and the one million gallons of water, pumped from wells ranging from 8,619 to 9,350 feet deep, are contained in settling ponds so as not to contaminate the town’s drinking water. After a look around and a little more discussion, I felt pretty good about the whole operation. The mine seemed to have the potential to fulfill the people’s dream by providing work opportunities and reviving the local economy. However, later that evening some locals gave me a different perspective.

I found myself sitting in the basement of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church with the local priest, a basketball coach/social service worker, a postman, and his son, who had recently fallen through the sidewalk. Sounds like the punch line for a joke, right? Actually, these people represented just a small portion of the diverse, caring, hospitable people that make up the town. The men were members of the Knights of Columbus, a local catholic organization dedicated to bettering the community. They’ve invited the Cycle the Rockies course to dinner for the last few years and this year was no exception. We were served an abundance of food and had a chance to talk with them about their impressions of the mine.

We learned that less than half of the job positions are filled by people from Roundup; the rest live in Billings. Also, some of those who do work as miners labor up to their their waists in muddy water, trudging along for 12 hours at a time – not quite the dream job Bud described to us. In addition, the mine recently lost the use of their water pump and began, without authorization or permits, to use water from the Musselshell River. Finally, and ironically, the mine ships all of the coal out of state. Over 50 percent goes overseas and the rest goes to Ohio and Pennsylvania. The locals can’t even purchase the coal taken from the ground not 20 miles from their homes.

Regardless of the violations and problems associated with the mine, the community is able to rely on the mine for one thing; cash flow. Some of the tax collected on mine’s gross proceeds goes to the community and may one day fund the school system, hospital, jail and the courthouse, many of which are in a state of major disrepair. Remember the boy who fell through the sidewalk? He plunged into a living space from the older mining days that had been sealed off and forgotten. That incident was due to a lack of resources for maintaining the town’s infrastructure.

Clearly the town needs funds for repairs and renewal. However, because the mine, like the last one, is currently unable to extract enough coal to break even there has been discussion of lowering or removing the tax until the mine is functioning at full capacity. People are willing to fight and make changes in order to have this mine succeed and fulfill a multi-generational dream of prosperity, even if it means if it means postponing that dream a little longer.

Because of these difficulties and disappointments, some locals are beginning to look to other natural resources for answers. The county recently began to explore geothermal and wind power as possibilities to replace coal energy. Father John, who we spoke with during dinner, explained that the church may install a geothermal heat pump, and Tom Berry, a state representative, also expressed support for a newly proposed wind farm in the area.

We cycled 25 miles today, up and over hills, past countless small communities and along coal seams. These places are more intertwined and dependent on one another than I would have ever imagined. My hope for next year’s Cycle the Rockies course is that they are greeted by revitalized, independent communities that are turning away from coal and tapping into renewable energy.

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